The Race to Monaco & The Special Builders' Breakfast Club

So That Was The Problem….

Behind the Bendix gear is another cup which contains a rubber block. (Caution – the retaining cap has a left-hand thread). This block is bonded both to the cup and a dog in the middle of the cup and is in effect a cush drive – preventing the torque from the starter motor stripping the teeth on the ring gear. The block had come adrift so the starter shaft was spinning and only just getting the engine to turn over. I think that if I’d hadn’t fitted electronic ignition, I’d still be pushing the car up the M20.

As these parts are unavailable, a search on the web turned up the options. A temporary fix (if I’m lucky) would be the application of a very good grade of super-glue or to adapt something from a Land Rover starter motor. As I’ve fitted the spare starter and that seems to be ok for the time being, I’ll go with the super-glue for starters – so to speak.

And super-glue is something I wished I’d had quantities of when re-assembling the Morris Minor gearbox. I was lucky to get new bearings from a local supplier and was looking forward to putting it all back together again – it came apart easily enough after all….. Well, 2 hours later, I’d nearly got it when I heard the tinkle of a ball bearing dropping into the casing; the synchromesh thingy had decided to complicate matters by slipping out of its sleeve…

…. letting the springs push the balls out. I was not very pleased.

To restore my equilibrium, I called up Learned Counsel and we slipped off to collect the Hillman rear axle from the sandblaster’s. The treatment won’t have made the hubs any the easier to get off but at least the dog can see the rabbit, so half the battle’s won. The corrosion on the nuts and bolts is a bit more than I imagined and I’ve noticed that there’s an interesting method of connecting the two sets of brake shoes (handbrake and service) together. How useful that might be is questionable because it could allow the back wheels to lock up more readily – something I would like to avoid.

An opportunity arose to join a trip through the lanes with the local A7 club and, as Sunita hadn’t been out since before the trip to France, we joined in, using it as an excuse to call in on Learned Counsel and to report on the progress of the Jowett Jumble Sale. We saw a gold painted Jowett Javelin on the way round the lanes; the lighter shades seem to set the saloon off to more advantage than the usual black and dark blue schemes.

Although it looks much the same as a few weeks ago, much progress with paintwork and trim has been made. Getting the rubber bead evenly fixed between the wings and the body has been a bit of a fiddle and the interior is about to be completed with the addition of the newly upholstered seat.

Of course, he’d have been a lot further on if he’d kept his priorities in focus and not taken time out to make a new garden gate.